Saturday, April 16, 2011

Shiner Ruby Redbird

Last night around 9 pm, I was minding my own business, watching the Phillies and drinking a much-deserved second, OK fifth, beer. That's when I stumbled into this phenomenon known on Twitter simply as #WineParty.

Not knowing anyone and being super shy, I asked host Kit from the Blogging Dangerously blog what I was supposed to do. Luckily, she gave me some instructions that I could handle: stalk the conversations for something interesting and with potential.

At some point I learned one of the rules at the party was that no bras are allowed, which suited me just fine. And when I realized that the party was made up almost exclusively of hot moms, jackpot!

If you are not stimulated by my recollection of the party, you can just show up yourself next week and make your own conversation. Perhaps I'll see you there, fashionably late to the weekly 9 pm Friday night start. And checking this morning, the wine party went into the wee hours of the morning. Great times! Now, on to the boring beer review part...

Today I'm drinking Shiner Ruby Redbird brewed by Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. "The Perfect Summer Beer" is brewed with Texas Ruby Red grapefruit juice and ginger. There is a little story on the back covering expectations headlined with "Serve Ice Cold On Hot Days".

A little grain with noticeable lemon and grapefruit citrus aroma, not too strong. Tart yet sweet grapefruit flavors start things off. Very dry. Very, very dry. Oh, and surprisingly flat and lacking much carbonation. Next, flat ginger ale hits your palate, with a not-so-powerful ginger component. Then there are no other flavors, just a tingle on the palate and more dryness. You know it's beer but that's it. Refreshment-wise, was OK. There are many better beers including half a dozen Shiners.

Shiner is generally solid. We've only been receiving them in S. Florida for a year or so now, but I've traveled to Texas a number of times before that started. Of course, Shiner is the goto beer in many a place.

I live in Texas and love my Shiner beers, pretty much all of them. And this is my new favorite for the moment, although sadly it's getting hard to find even here in its home state. After reading your blog, I did try drinking it without a bra on and found it to be a bit less dry that way.

Shiner does have some really tasty beers - but I am currently trying to cut back on calories... came across Shiner Light Blonde (99) and Ruby Red Bird (116). Being a big fan of taste (Guinness/Black&Tan preferred...) this is a big plunge for me. After reading the above, I'm going to remove the bra and go commando in hopes that I will enjoy the taste more... :)